Unlikely Deals (Short Story)

I bounded through the pitch-black city. It was always dark down here, so I’d learned to get around by the meager light of the flames jetting randomly from cracks in the ground. Unlike most demons, I can’t see in the dark. Luckily my sharp hearing and sharper balance made up for it. Which was good, because right now I had hunting to do.

I scrambled up a metal spire crusty with verdigris and dug my claws into it, straining to hear.

The clank of armor.

Labored breathing.

Footsteps from feet wearing shoes.

Yep, there was a human here. They came down to the Obsidian City every now and then, stupid heroes looking for a place to test their strength. Usually the strongest, nastiest demons got to them first and there were barely bones left by the time I got anywhere near the corpse.

This time, I was determined to catch one for myself.

I pinpointed the sound and dropped down in front of it. The human yelled and ran at me. I dodged, knocking the thing’s puny sword out of its hands.

“Stop that. I’m not going to eat you.”

“You lie, fiend!!” The human snapped.

“Not this time I don’t. Come on. If anyone else knows you’re here, they will definitely eat you.”

The human’s eyes widened under his mop of dark hair. “Are you . . . trying to help me?”

“Depends on what you want help with.”

“I need to find a specific statue.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. Humans are so weird.

“Why?”

“To prove my worth to my knight-master before he’ll let me be his squire.”

“I only understood about half of that sentence.” I informed him. “But whoever sent you down here armed with just a sword is either an idiot, a coward, hates you, or all three.”

Taking a better look at him, I realized he was young even by human standards, probably in his early teens. No beard, slightly rounded edges to his features, pretty skinny, and with a sprinkling of freckles across his crooked nose.

“On second thought, whoever sent you down here at all hates you. You’re just a kid.”

He looked offended. “I’m fifteen!”

I smirked. “Exactly. I’m fifty, so you’re practically a baby. But if you really want a statue, I’ll help you get it.”

“Why?” He retorted.

“Because I’m interested in humans. Everybody else thinks you’re only good for snacks, but you’re pretty fascinating.”

“Really? I’m not noble or anything.”

“Be glad you’re not a Knobble. They’re ugly as crap.”

His face scrunched up in confusion. “Huh?”

I grinned, realizing we must be talking about different things. “I’ll explain later. For now, we should scram. The other demons will be smelling you.”

I took a few steps into an alleyway, realized he wasn’t following, and turned. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Fine.” He grumbled. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“I’m Rostha.” I said over my shoulder as we hurried along. “Do you have a name?”

"I'm not sure telling you my name is a good idea." The human muttered.

"I'm going to make one up for you if you don't." I informed him. "And it's not going to be very flattering, I can tell you that."

"Alright, alright. My name's Dorian.”

“Well, Dorian, what does this statue look like?”

“Black with green veins in the stone, a man with a lion’s head. That’s all they told me.”

I froze. “Are you serious?”

“Yes?” He said hesitantly. “Why, will it be hard to get?”

“Getting it should be easy, it’s what happens after that I’m worried about.”

Dorian gave me a questioning look. I sighed.

“There are six of those statues. I know where they are, everybody down here does. Only problem is that they’re anchors for a binding spell. If we take one, it weakens the spell, might even break it. Then whoever’s imprisoned by the spell gets out.”

“Who is it?”

I snarled in irritation. “My grandfather.”

“Wouldn’t you want to free him then?”

“No.” I said flatly, trying to end the conversation. “Look, how about I give you some free advice.”

Dorian sighed, then nodded. “Well I don’t suppose this day can get any stranger. Yes.”

“I’ll show you a different way out of here, one that will get you back up to the surface. I’ve got a few gold bars, here. Humans like those, right?”

Dorian’s jaw dropped as I plunked five solid gold bars into his outstretched arms. “This is enough to make a lord of myself!”

“Do it then. I really don’t care. Go back up, buy a new life, whatever you want. I have more gold where that came from. I’ll leave some near the other entrance for you every month, on one condition.”

“My soul?” Dorian squeaked.

I snorted. “What? No. I want you to bring me books, maps, human artifacts. I want to study them.”

The boy sighed with relief. “I can do that.”

I stretched out a fist. “Deal.”

Dorian tilted his head quizzically.

“You put your own fist on it.” I explained, irritated. “It’s a demon thing.”

Hesitantly, Dorian stacked his fist on top of mine.

A few minutes later, I was waving goodbye to him from the back of a cave near the surface. “Good luck, kid.”

I had the feeling this was the beginning of a whole sack of annoyance for me. But hey, the books were going to be worth it.

(Photo by Sergey Guk on Pexels)